Superstar was seriously injured
Doctor prepares Brazil for bad news from Neymar
December 20, 2023, 12:13 p.m
If the Brazilian national soccer team wants to win back a hugely important title next summer, they will probably have to do so without superstar Neymar: the striker will probably miss the Copa América. A doctor is already preparing the nation for this news after Neymar’s serious injury in the fall.
Brazil’s star striker Neymar will be out of the Copa América in the USA in June 2024 after his serious knee injury. He will probably only be fit again at the start of the season in Europe next summer, said Rodrigo Lasmar, doctor for the Brazilian Football Association, on Tuesday (local time) on Rádio 98 FM. “We need patience. It is premature to talk about a return nine months ago,” he added. It is a worldwide concept that this is the necessary recovery time for such a ligament tear.
Neymar suffered a torn cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee during the 2-0 defeat in the World Cup qualifier in Uruguay on October 17th. He had an operation in Brazil at the beginning of November. “It makes no sense to skip stages of recovery and take unnecessary risks,” said Lasmar.
He expects the 31-year-old to be ready for action at a high level again at the start of the 2024 season in Europe, “i.e. in August”. The star striker, who repeatedly struggled with sometimes serious injuries throughout his career, moved from Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia this summer.
The South American continental football championship Copa América will take place in the USA from June 20 to July 24, 2024. The ten national associations of the Conmebol region in South America around the current title holder Argentina will take part in the tournament, as well as six associations from the continental association CONCACAF as guests. In the last edition of the tournament, which takes place every four years, Brazil lost in the final to Argentina (0-1) in 2021 – the tournament had been postponed by a year due to the pandemic. The big competitor won the title for the first time since 1993.
The associations from North and Central America and the Caribbean are organized in CONCACAF. In the summer of 2026, the USA, together with Mexico and Canada, will host the Football World Cup – for the first time with 48 teams.